The 2025 Policy Meeting, though concluded, will continue to influence participants and stakeholders for an extended period.

Organized by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the annual gathering brought together policymakers, leaders of tertiary institutions, and other significant stakeholders to discuss and shape the future of higher education in Nigeria.

This event served as an essential platform for sharing knowledge and fostering dialogue. It led to impactful decisions, including the adoption of a minimum admissible benchmark for university admissions in the 2025/2026 academic year, setting admission deadlines for the 2024/2025 session, establishing a 16-year minimum age requirement for admission, and the introduction of a new national ranking system for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), among others.

Despite these developments, a new controversy has emerged surrounding the UTME ranking system, prompting diverse interpretations and responses from Nigerians.

On Tuesday, JAMB announced a significant policy change, revealing that the UTME result slip for each candidate will now display their ranking position. JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, clarified that this feature would be introduced for the 1,905,539 candidates who took this year’s UTME.

What This Means

The new national ranking system for the UTME mirrors the traditional ranking in primary school, where students are ranked based on their exam results.

Under this system, university admission chances will not only depend on a candidate’s score but also on how their performance compares to others.

For instance, a student who scores 360 might rank 115th, meaning 114 candidates outperformed them. Conversely, a student scoring 200 could rank 546,784th, indicating that 546,783 candidates performed better.

Why the New Ranking System Was Adopted – JAMB’s Explanation

JAMB Spokesperson Dr. Fabian Benjamin explained that the new system was designed to provide context for raw scores and to assist tertiary institutions in making better-informed admissions decisions.

Dr. Benjamin emphasized that by displaying a candidate’s national ranking, universities would be able to evaluate not just the score but the relative standing of applicants among their peers.

He also pointed out the tendency of parents to boast about their children's "high scores" without understanding how those scores measure up to others.

Dr. Benjamin elaborated, saying, “The ranking is based on the number of candidates; from one to the last.” He further explained that a candidate with a score of 320 may rank 400th in the national list, and if a university department is only admitting 150 students, the candidate will realize their chances are slim.

He likened the system to primary school rankings, where students are ranked based on their scores. "In primary school, students are ranked from one to fifty, with each student’s position reflecting their performance relative to others in the class,” he said.

NANS Response

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has voiced its opposition to the new ranking system, calling it a "misplaced priority" and "laughable."

In a phone interview with The Guardian, NANS Public Relations Officer, Adeyemi Ajasa, questioned the logic behind implementing the new ranking system, given that candidates still face additional challenges such as the Post-UTME process.

Ajasa, who was hearing about the initiative for the first time, expressed skepticism about its implementation. He commented, “I don’t think this will materialize. It might just be part of their plans or wishes. Even universities with smaller departments don’t rank students in this way. It’s akin to grading CGPA as ‘strong Second Class Upper’ or ‘strong First Class.’”

He continued, “In my view, this is unnecessary. I would encourage JAMB to think outside the box, collaborate with other stakeholders, and come up with better solutions. While they might view the ranking as a way to prevent automatic admissions for students with scores of 300, there are better ways to collaborate with institutions.”

The NANS spokesperson urged JAMB to reconsider the ranking system and continue educating parents that a high score does not guarantee automatic admission.